In Acre, MPF says mayor’s praise for military dictatorship ‘violates republican sense’

Marcela Leiros – From Cenarium Magazine

MANAUS – The Federal Public Ministry (MPF) repudiated the praise that the mayor of Rio Branco, capital of Acre, Tião Bocalom, made to the military dictatorship, as well as the allegations that there was fraud in the polls. During a local podcast, the head of the municipal executive referred to the exceptional regime installed in the country in 1964 as the “Brazilian miracle”.

In the note of repudiation, released on Monday, 21, and signed by the regional prosecutor of the Rights of the Citizen of the organ in Acre, Lucas Costa Almeida Dias, MPF recalled that the military regime was a period ruled by violence, with torture and execution of people, and stressed that praise for the system violates the democratic rule of law.

“Praises for the regime of exception installed in the country, through the military coup of 1964, violate the republican notion and the system of human rights implemented by the Federal Constitution, because in the dictatorship torture practices and executions of people were employed, which even led Brazil to be held responsible for these crimes before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights”, said the body.

See the note from the MPF:

The Federal Public Ministry (MPF), through the Regional Prosecutor for the Rights of the Citizen (PRDC), expresses vehement repudiation of the speech of the mayor of Rio Branco, Sebastião Bocalom, who, last Friday, 18, defended and normalized the military dictatorship implanted in Brazil, in 1964, and the anti-democratic acts carried out after the result of the election of 2022.

Praises for the regime of exception installed in the country through the military coup of 1964 violate the republican notion and the human rights system implemented by the Federal Constitution, because during the dictatorship torture and executions of people were used, which even led Brazil to be held responsible for these crimes before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.

In light of this situation, the MPF reiterates its commitment to the protection of human rights and will continue to make every effort before the investigative bodies to ensure that crimes violating fundamental rights committed during the military dictatorship in Acre are duly held accountable, notably because of their imprescriptibility.

Praise for the dictatorship

Besides praising the military dictatorship, Bocalom criticised the president of the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) and minister of the Supreme Court (STF), Alexandre de Moraes, said there was fraud in the elections and spoke of a “dictatorship of the judiciary”.

“When was the Brazilian miracle of development? That Brazil was the 40th country in world economy and then it came to the 6th and became the third in world economy? When was this? It was during the military period that the country exploded, that the Brazilian economy exploded. It is the Brazilian miracle”, said Tião Bocalom.

In another part of the interview, the mayor said that there was fraud at the ballot boxes in the last elections and cited a video released by an Argentine influencer who claims that part of the electronic ballot boxes had not been “audited” by the TSE and would have transferred votes from Bolsonaro to Lula during voting.

“I do believe [that there was fraud at the ballot boxes]. I believe it, because as the mathematician that I am and I work with statistics, when you take those numbers from that audit that that the Argentinean did and show that there really is a different behaviour in the ballot boxes”, he also declared.

Clarification

In a statement released to the press, the mayor of the Acre capital, Tião Bocalom, said he did not defend the military dictatorship and that the content took repercussions that “went beyond the local sphere”.

Check out the note from Acre’s mayor:

I want here to make some clarifications regarding the information that is being reported by the press regarding a speech I made in an interview to a local website.

1 – News media are using terms such as “defending the military dictatorship”, which did not happen during the interview I gave to a local news website. During the conversation, the journalist made the following statement: “People are asking for military intervention”, to which I replied: “And what is the problem?”, referring to the acts and the constitutional right of free manifestation in the streets, never inciting a military dictatorship.

2 – During my speech, on the same program, I made a point of making it clear that, during the period of the military governments, as a professional in the area of statistics, I highlighted the economy, when I affirmed that at that time there was the famous “economic miracle”, when the country went from the thirtieth position in the world economy to third or fourth.

3 – As the content took repercussion that went beyond the local sphere, websites, armed with a single excerpt from the interview, came to affirm that I would be a supporter of the military dictatorship, which I reiterate is not true. The complete interview is available on the internet.

4 – I classify this distortion of my speech as attacks on my person and our management, with the intention of dehydrating my image and the achievements to the population of Rio Branco, but we repudiate the dissemination of lies and factoids that harm not only the mayor, but the local population.

Always a defender of freedom of expression, respectful to the press and practicing the constitutional principles that govern our municipality of Rio Branco, our state of Acre and our Brazil, I have always defended, throughout my political life, full freedom, as foreseen in our Constitution (art. 5, clause IX – the expression of intellectual, artistic, scientific and communication activity is free, independently of censorship or licence). Which does not mean intending against the current civil system.

I place myself at the disposal of the population to restore the truth. I reiterate that I work ceaselessly and tirelessly to transform the dreams of the people of Rio Branco into reality, and remain firm in the purpose of bringing more production, employment and dignity to all Rio Branco citizens.

IT’S GOOD TO REMEMBER: On 31/10, as mayor, I issued a note congratulating the elected president and vice-president.

Tião Bocalom

Mathematics teacher and mayor of Rio Branco, Acre, Brazil